A Star Lawyer Takes On the Feds over AIG

A federal lawsuit by Maurice R. “Hank” Greenberg—the former chief executive officer of American International Group —that seeks $25 billion in damages from the U.S. government for the 2008 federal takeover of the insurer relies on a novel approach. The suit, filed with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington on Nov. 21, argues that the U.S. Treasury illegally took property from AIG shareholders when it bailed out the company. Legal scholars say this is a rare application of “takings” law, which usually involves land, to the world of finance.

David Boies, the attorney spearheading the case, has argued many landmark cases during his four-decade career. While working as a special trial counsel for the U.S. Justice Dept. in the late 1990s, Boies convinced a judge that Microsoft was a monopolist. He argued for Presidential candidate Al Gore in the Florida vote recount and represented National Basketball Assn. players in labor talks that just concluded. In 2009, Boies also successfully defended Greenberg’s Starr International, AIG’s largest shareholder at the time of the rescue, against a claim by AIG that it looted $4.3 billion in stock. “He takes cutting-edge cases in unexplored areas of law,” says Robert Thomas, a San Francisco lawyer who often represents clients whose property has been seized by the government. Boies, who has represented Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg Businessweek, was unavailable for comment.